Differentiated experiences of financial precarity and lived precariousness among international students in Australia

Abstract

Empirical research on international student migrants has sometimes homogenised this group, framing it as predominantly made up of privileged members of the global middle-class. This has led to calls to acknowledge and address the precarity faced by international students in their respective host countries more comprehensively. This study aims to explore how levels of financial precarity vary among international students in Australia, and how this in turn contributes to varying levels of precariousness in the personal spheres of students’ lives. In doing so, we centre and refine the concept of precarity for use in studies of internationally mobile students, arguing for its use as a ‘relational nexus’, bridging financial precarity and broader lived experiences. Drawing on a large-scale survey and semi-structured interviews with 48 students, we emphasise the linkages between financial precarity and precariousness as a socio-ontological experience, explored through the examples of time poverty, physical and mental wellbeing, and relationships.

Academic, Social, and Financial Changes in International Students’ Lives Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Similarly, access to public resources was often limited for international students because of language, financial, and informational barriers (Chen et al 2020), whereas significant hardships and economic instability were also noticed (Coffey et al 2021;Jokila & Filippou 2023). These results challenge once more the former assumptions of international students being a homogenized group with privileged members who are financially independent (as also highlighted in Arkoudis et al 2019;Mulvey, Morris & Ashton 2023) and increase the need for more studies examining in detail how students finance their studies.…”